Hockey
Hockey World Cup: Why the trophy map showed Kashmir in Pakistan till 2017
All you need to know about the controversy involving India and Pakistan's map on the Hockey World Cup Trophy.
Former FIH and Hockey India President Narinder Batra had, earlier this month, revealed that he had threatened the global hockey governing body that "he will ensure the Indian Customs do not clear the World Cup trophy" when India hosted the World Cup back in 2018.
"After I became the President of FIH in 2016, I had told the FIH that neither I nor will I allow any Indian political leader to present this trophy during the 2018 World Cup in India and I will ensure that the Indian Customs do not clear the trophy to enter India," Batra had said.
But, why did Narinder Batra have to threaten an organisation he was the President of?
Well, the answer lies in the details of the trophy.
The Hockey World Cup trophy which was designed back during the prestigious tournament's inaugural edition in 1971, displayed Jammu and Kashmir as a part of Pakistan.
But, why was it so? To understand this, we need to go a bit deeper into the history of the Hockey World Cup.
The FIH Hockey World Cup was a joint brainchild of two traditional powerhouses in the sport - India and Pakistan, with a desire to have a premier standalone tournament in the sport outside of the Olympics.
The concept of a Hockey World Cup was approved by FIH in 1969 and Pakistan was handed the hosting rights for its first-ever edition in 1971.
However, the 1971 Hockey World Cup was moved out of Pakistan to Spain due to political and security issues after the nation's Operation Searchlight became a worldwide issue.
Though the World Cup was moved out of Pakistan, the country retained the rights to design and create the World Cup trophy.
The Hockey World Cup Trophy was designed by Pakistan Air Marshall Bashir Moojid and officially constructed by the Pakistani Army.
The trophy, which is used till date, is a silver cup with intricate floral designs placed on a teak inlaid with ivory. On top of the cup is a model of the globe made out of gold and silver with a hockey stick and ball mounted on it.
This model of the globe is what irked the then FIH and Hockey India boss Narinder Batra. It showed the region of Jammu and Kashmir as a part of Pakistan and Batra had to threaten FIH with dire consequences ahead of the 2018 World Cup in India.
Batra's threat did bear fruits as the FIH finally modified the trophy in 2017 - a year before the World Cup.
What was the modification?
Well, the FIH simply simply removed the country lines from the globe and the trophy now displays only the continental borders.
While Narinder Batra is widely being credited in the media currently for the modification, it should be noted that he was not the first to raise this issue.
Various other Indians have pointed this out in the past as well - the most notable being former India captain MP Ganesh, who led India at the 1973 World Cup.
"This cup had, and still has, a map which showed Kashmir as being in Pakistan's territory to our shock and dismay. This should be taken seriously by concerned authorities and rectified," reads MP Ganesh's autobiography Living The Dream.